With another season in the Championship beckoning for Stoke City, it is hardly surprising that they are facing a fight to keep hold of one of their star performers this summer.

According to the Sun, Aston Villa are reportedly interested in signing Jack Butland and could be about to offer a bid in the region of £20m as they look to bolster their goalkeeping options ahead of their return to the Premier League.

If this is indeed true, Stoke boss Nathan Jones may end up being powerless to prevent the England international from leaving as there are no guarantees that the Staffordshire-based outfit will be able to provide him with top-flight football in the future.

Keeping this in mind, we have set out three potential consequences that the Potters could face next season if Butland moves on to pastures new.

Check them out below...

Stoke fail to find a sufficient replacement during the transfer window

A commanding presence at the back for Stoke last season, Butland will undoubtedly be a tough man to replace if he does go to Villa as there are very few keepers on the market who are anywhere near as good as him.

Whereas the Potters could turn to Joe Hart as a possible successor, reports in the Sun suggest that the 32-year-old could be on his way to Bournemouth instead, leaving Jones with a real problem heading into the new campaign.

Although he has reportedly agreed a deal with shot-stopper Adam Davies to sign him on a free transfer, as per Sky Sports journalist Rob Dorsett, there is no guarantee that the Barnsley ace will be able to deal with the pressure that playing for Stoke can bring.

Jones struggles in his first full season in charge at the bet365 Stadium

Having experienced a mixed start to his time with the Potters after taking over at the club in January, the upcoming campaign is make or break for Jones.

If he fails to re-invest the money correctly from Butland's sale, the former Luton Town boss could end up struggling to improve upon Stoke's 16th place finish last season as the teams in and around his side will all be looking to make marked improvements over the next 11 months.

The Potters end up leaking goals in the Championship

When you consider that only Dean Henderson (21) and Darren Randolph (19) recorded more clean-sheets in the Championship during the 2018/19 campaign than Butland (18), his departure could lead to Stoke becoming very leaky at the back.

Whereas the likes of Ryan Shawcross and Danny Batth will have other ideas next season, if they do not have a competent keeper backing them up, they may struggle to prevent the opposition from firing in the goals.